Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom4the extremest kind of wickedness? Yet such an one arrived straight at the summit of excellence,and passed into Paradise itself, not needing days, nor half a day, but one little moment. So that aman may change suddenly, and become gold instead of clay. For since what belongs to virtue andto vice is not by nature, the change is easy, as being independent of any necessity. “If ye be willingand obedient,” He saith, “ye shall eat the good of the land.” ( Isa. i. 19 .) Seest thou that thereneeds the will only? will—not the common wishing of the multitude—but earnest will. For I knowthat all are wishing to fly up to heaven even now; but it is necessary to show forth the wish byworks. The merchant too wishes to get rich; but he doth not allow his wish to stop with the thoughtof it; no, he fits out a ship, and gets together sailors, and engages a pilot, and furnishes the vesselwith all other stores, and borrows money, and crosses the sea, and goes away into a strange land,and endures many dangers, and all the rest which they know who sail the sea. So too must we showour will; for we also sail a voyage, not from land to land, but from earth to heaven. Let us then soorder our reason, that it be serviceable to steer our upward course, and our sailors that they beobedient to it, and let our vessel be stout, that it be not swamped amidst the reverses anddespondencies of this life, nor be lifted up by the blasts of vainglory, but be a fast and easy vessel.If so we order our ship, and so our pilot and our crew, we shall sail with a fair wind, and we shalldraw down to ourselves the Son of God, the true Pilot, who will not leave our bark to be engulfed,but, though ten thousand winds may blow, will rebuke the winds and the sea, and instead of ragingwaves, make a great calm.[6.] Having therefore ordered yourselves, so come to our next assembly, if at least it be at allan object of desire to you to hear somewhat to your advantage, and lay up what is said in yoursouls. But let not one of you be the “wayside,” none the “stony ground,” none the “full of thorns.”( Matt. xiii. 4, 5, 7 .) Let us make ourselves fallow lands. For so shall we (the preachers) put inthe seed with gladness, when we see the land clean, but if stony or rough, pardon us if we like notto labor in vain. For if we shall leave off sowing and begin to cut up thorns, surely to cast seed intoground unwrought were extreme folly.It is not meet that he who has the advantage of such hearing be partaker of the table of devils.“For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” ( 2 Cor. vi. 14 .) Thou standestlistening to John, and learning the things of the Spirit by him; and dost thou after this depart tolisten to harlots speaking vile things, and acting viler, and to effeminates cuffing one another? Howwilt thou be able to be fairly cleansed, if thou wallowest in such mire? Why need I reckon in detailall the indecency that is there? All there is laughter, all is shame, all disgrace, revilings and mockings,all abandonment, all destruction. See, I forewarn and charge you all. Let none of those who enjoythe blessings of this table destroy his own soul by those pernicious spectacles. All that is said anddone there is a pageant of Satan. But ye who have been initiated know what manner of covenantsye made with us, or rather ye made with Christ when He guided you into His mysteries, what yespoke to Him, what speech ye had with Him concerning Satan’s pageant; 12 how with Satan andhis angels ye renounced this also, and promised that you would not so much as cast a glance 13 thatway. There is then no slight ground for fear, lest, by becoming careless of such promises, one shouldrender himself unworthy of these mysteries.12πομπῆς .13παρακύψειν .12